The present invention relates to an apparatus for the automatic cleaning of swimming pools and the like, and more particularly, to an automatic pool cleaner of simple design that does not require a separate pump system or special hoses. The apparatus of the present invention operates to disturb the dirt and debris on the surface of the pool walls and bottom such that these particles are suspended in the water. The normal operation of the pool filter system is thus enabled to filter out this dirt and debris as part of its filtration of the pool water.
Devices for cleaning the surfaces of a swimming pool have in the past commonly included flexible sweep hoses that discharge water through jets to thereby disturb dirt and other debris which have accumulated on the pool surfaces. This material is thus placed in suspension in the water, as in the present invention, to enable the filtration thereof to remove the material from the pool. However, most such sweep hose systems have either required separate pump facilities, or have involved complex systems for the placement of these hoses. Examples of such systems include the pool cleaner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,408, wherein a car having a plurality of sweep hoses is caused to move along a track on the bottom of the pool, or the cleaner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,044, in which sweep hoses are coupled to a pipe that pivots about a boom floating on the surface of the water in the pool. Other types of automatic pool cleaners include devices wherein at some intermediate point on a hose, pool jets are located to cause the hoses to change direction in a random fashion, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,392,738, or cleaners wherein mechanical means are used to modify the direction of the cleaner apparatus.